Shock-absorber and suspension for vehicles.



T'. MoHsKl. I SHOCK ABSORBER AND SUSPENSION FOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED APR. I5. 1918.

Patented; Jan. 7, 1919. 2 SHEETS-SHEET:

WITNESSES T. Mofasm. SHOCI( ABSORBIR AND SUSPENSION FR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. l5; |918.

Patented J an. l7, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

3 y/Illlllllllllll/l/llllllllllllllllllllllll; (78 I l` III 7 uw jy u ATTO RN EY Leases.

' Nrrnn STATES' PAT THOMAS Monsxr, OEMANISTEE, MICHIGAN, Assienon To AMEETCAN Moronv SPRING PATENTS COMPANY, a CORPORATION or DELAWARE.

l SHOCK-AVBSCB/BEB AND SUSPENSION FOR VEHICLES.

Speciiication of VLetters Patent..

i Application tiled April l5, 1918. Serial No; 228,671.

To all whom t may ooncem.' Be it known th'at l, .THoMAs Mio-Renna citizen of Russia, residing at Manistee, in the county of Manistee and State of .Michihave invented a new and useful Shock gan, I Absorber and Suspension for Vehicles,

. which the following is a specification.

rlPhe invention relates to vehicle springs, and more particularly to the class of attachments for vehicles for service as springs and shock absorbers.`

The primary object of the invention is the provisionof an attachment of this character, wherein the' impact and the rebounding action between the w-heels and the body of a vehicle will be taken care of, so as to absorb the sanie, and'thereby relieve the ve-v hicle from sudden shocks andj ars, and thus increase the longevity thereof.

vision of 'an attachment of this character, wherein the body of the vehicle is supported upon the same, so that said attachment will i' serve as springs therefor, andthe arrangement and coactionof its parts arersuch as to render the same/nolseless and to assure the absorbing of shocks andV jars. incident to the travel of the vehicle.

A further object of the invention is the provision-of anattachment of this character, wherein the verticalmovement of either the axle or body of the vehicle is yieldingfly l resisted in a novel manner, without excessive All lstrain,' the attachment being novel in form to permit vthe application thereof tothe vehicle, and the use of the ordinary ellipti-' cal springs is eliminated. H Y v A still further ob'ect ofthe invention is the provision of an attach-ment of this char-i acter which is comparatively simple inconstruction, possessing few parts, which are readily' accessible, thoroughly reliable; and

efficient in operation, strong, durable andinexpensive in manufacture and installation. The invention' will' be best understood from a consideration of the following detail description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings yforming partV of this specification,l with the further understanding that, whileI the drawings show a practical form of theinvention, the latter 4is not conned to any strict conformity with fthe-showing of the drawings, but may be changed and modified so long as` such changes and modifications come within the scope of the appended claims.

ln theaccompanyng drawings;

Patented aan. 7,1919.

. Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation'fof" avehicle, showing only the rear axle in vertical section, and a portion ofthe body with Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5*-5 i of Fig. 1. Another Object of the invention is the protheinvention in accordance with the illus- `trated example, there is shown a portion of the body A, the rea-r axle B, and the wheels C' of an automobile of any ordinary and 4well known construction, the rear axle B being held in its proper relation by. the usual radius rods, not shown, while D indicatesf generally the vehicle vsprings or attachment hereinafter fully described- The vehicle spring `or attachment D comprises a cylinder 10, preferably of uniform V cross sectional diameter throughout its length having internall threaded ends for detachable and adj ustab e engagement therewith of externally threaded caps-1l to close the ropposite `ends of the cylinder 10. The

latter contains `or has arranged therein a reciprocatory toothed rack12, which is of the required length, preferably as sho-wn in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and is formed at oppo- 4site ends with longitudinally alining guide rods or stems' 13, whichfit in sockets 14: formed` in the caps 1'1. At their outer ends the caps 11 are preferably rounded as at 15, the sockets 1A being correspondingly shaped tothe rods Or`stems13 and are of a length to permit the reciprocation of the rack 12 when movement is imparted thereto,

iot

Surroundingthe rods or stems 13 at op- -posite sides of the rack 12 are coiled compression springs 16, which have their ends working against the rack 12 and the caps 11, the springs 16 being of 'a tension to normally hold the rack 12 at a neutral point, substantially medially in the cylinder 10. However when motion is imparted to the rack 12, the same will move longitudinally' within the cylinder 1.0 against the resistance of the springs thus coacting with the same to absorb shocks and Jars incident to the travel of the vehicle.

At the neutral point of location of the rack 12 and fixed to and depending from the underside of the cylinder 10 is a gear casingI 17, in which is journaled a transverse shaft 18, which interiorly of the casing 17 carries a segment toothed gear 19. The teeth of gear 19 mesh with the teeth of the rack 12, the cylinder 10 being cut away at 20 to form a clearance for the gear 19, as is clearly shown in F ig. 2 of the drawings.

'Fixed to the, axle B is a split bearing sleeie 21, which is detachably -bolted as-at 22 thereto, and' is formed with the upstandfing spa-ced parallel bearing ears 23. Be-

tween the ears 23 is pivoted the rear end of the arm 25 by a bolt 24 of a forked lever, the fork 26 of which straddles the gear casing 17, and has its limbs of substantially `Lshape fixed to the transverse shaft 18 journaled in the gear casing 17, and carrying the gear 19. Hence on vertical movement of the body A and axle B, the forked lever will be rocked thus imparting movement to the gear 19, which causes the reciprocation of the rack 12, against the resistance of the spring 16 to 'absorb the shock or jar imparted to the vehicle.` It `will be seen that-this movement is yieldingly resisted to relieviI both the impact of the shock and the rebounding, action to the vehicle.

In Fig. 6 ofthe drawings, there is shown a slight modification of the invention, wherein the cylinder 27 is preferably of the shape shown therein, formed with the small and larger port-ions 28 and 29, respectively. yClosing the ends of these portions are the respective single and double guide caps 30 and 31, while within the cylinder 27 is the reciprocatory rack 32 formed at opposite ends with the guide rods or stems 33. These last are in longitudinal alinement and work within the single and double guide caps. Bolted or otherwise fastened upon the rack 32 is a saddle 34 having a stem 35, which projects forwardly and is parallel with the rod or stem 33 next thereto on the rack 32, the rod or stem 35' being designed to work within the double guide cap 31. Surrounding the rods or, stems 33 are the coiled compression springs 36, which work against said caps and the rack 32, and likewise surrounding the rod or stem 35 is the auxiliary compression spring 37, which works against the saddle 34 and the double guide cap 31 to augment one of the springs 33 in the action of the shock absorber.

It will be noted that the spring 33 forwardly of the rack 32 and the auxiliary spring 37 cooperate to yieldingly resist the impact of the shock imparted to the axle or body of the vehicle, while the other spring 36 at the rear of the rack 32 yieldingly resists the rebounding action in the operation of `the shock absorber.

Lubricant is introduced into either of the cylinders 10 or 27 for the oiling of the parts working therein, the caps being suiiiciently tight tov retain oil within the cylinders. If found desirable, suitable oil cups can be provided for the supplying of oil to the cylinders of the shock absorber.

Both the preferred and modified forms of the attachment will serve as springs for the vehicle, and in the operation thereof the springs 16, 36 and 37 in the forward ends of the cylinders, will be suiiciently strong to support the weight of the body of the vehicle and the load it contains, or practically so. That is to say, the toothed rack 12, or 32, will be held at a central or neutral point in the cylinder when the car is at rest without a load. The load, when placed in the vehicle, will tend to lower the cylinder thereby compressing the spring 16 or the springs 36 and 37 in the forward end' of said cylinder, to a slight degree, and these springs will sustain the body and its load.

Now, when the wheels C strike an obstruction along the road, the said wheels jump upwardly which causes the upward movement of the lever 25, moving the gear 19 therewith, which acts upon the rack causing the latter to move forwardly in the cylinder against the resistance of the spring or springs in the front end of said cylinder.

he spring or springs resist the thrust and tend to force back the rack 12 to normal position, which is either central or at a neutral point within the cylinder.

It is contemplated within the scope or embodiment of the invention to mount the arms 25 rearwardly of the axle B. or in other wards reverse the position of the arms, which would extend backwardly of the axle so that the operation of the attachment would be the reversal of the action thereof hereinbefore set forth.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction and manner of operation of the invention will be clearly understood, and therefore, a more extended examination has been omitted.

What is claimed is 1. An attachment for vehicles, comprising a cylinder fixed to the frame of said vehicle, an oppositely tensioned member reciprocatively held 1n the cylinder, a toothed gear engaging said member. and an arm fixed to the gear at the axis thereof and pivotally connected with the axle of the vehicle.

Q. An attachment .for vehicles, comprising a cylinder fixed to the frame `of said vehicle, an oppositely tensioned member reciprocatively held in the cylinder, a toothed gear engaging said member, an arm fixed to the gear at the axis thereof and pivotally connected with the axle ofthe vehicle, and guide caps H closing the ends of said cylinder and supporting the tensioned member.

3. An attachment for vehicles, comprising a cylinder xed to the frame of said vehicle, an oppositely tensioned member recprocatively held in the cylinder,.a toothed gear engaging said member, an arm fixed to the gear at the. axis thereof and pivotally connected with the axle of the vehicle, guide caps closing the ends of said cylinder and supporting the tensioned member, and an inclosure for said gear. l

el. An attachment comprising in combination a cylinder, a reciprocatory toothed rack interiorly y thereof and having stems pro'- jecting from the opposite ends, caps on the ends of the cylinder and receiving the stems, coiled compression springs surrounding the stems and working against said rack, a

toothed gear meshing with the rack, and an arm fixed to the gear for moving the latter.

5. An attachment comprising in combination a cylinder, areciprocatory toothed rack interiorly thereof and having stems projecting from the opposite ends, adjustable caps on the ends of the cylinder and receiv-` ing the stems, coiled compression springs surrounding the stems and Working against said rack and said caps, a toothed gear meshing `vv'ith the rack, an arm fixedv to the gear for moving the latter, and a casing on the `cylinder inclosing the gear.

6. An attachment comprising in combination a cylinder, a reciprocat-ory toothed rack interiorly thereof and having stems projecting from the opposite ends, caps on the ends of the cylinder and receiving the stems, coiled lcompression springs surrounding the stems and working against said rack, a toothed gear meshing with the rack, an arm fixed to the gear for, moving the latter, and a casing on the cylinder inclosing the gear, said arm being forked to straddle the casing.

7. An attachment comprising in combination a cylinder,a. reciprocatory toothed rack interiorly thereof and having stems projecting from the opposite ends, caps on the ends of the cylinder and receiving the stems, coiled compression springs surrounding the stems andr working against said rack, a:

toothed gear meshing with the rack, an arm fixed to the gear for moving the latter, a casing on the cylinder inclosing the gear, salid arm being formed to straddle the casing, and a bearing for pivotally connecting the arm to an axle.

8. An attachment for vehicles compris-A ing a cyllnder, a rack reclprocable 1n the cyl-` to the gear at its axis, and a pair of ears rislng from an axle of the vehicle andpivotally1 t holding the opposite end of said arm.

l0. An attachment for vehicles comprising a casing, a rack and gear within the casing, an arm secured tothe gear at its axis and pivotally connectednvith an axle of the ve hicle, and tensioninglmeans acting on each end of the rack to hold the same in a neutral position and to maintain the body of the vehicle in 'a normal position with respect to said axle.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my ovvn, I have hereto aiixed my signature `in the `presence of tvvo witnesses.

' THOMAS Monsxi.

Titnesses J oHx AUSTIN, THos. SMURTHWAITE. 

